The Dusty Years Causing arid and dusty land, boiling temperatures, and thousands of deaths, the Dust Bowl not only killed many Americans in the central United States, but also triggered one of the most financial downfalls in American history, the Great Depression. The Dust Bowl was the area of parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and New Mexico in the 1930s that experienced strong dust storms and lack of water, causing a drought. Although many factors can be accounted for the causes of the Dust Bowl, the main reason is farmers excessively cultivated and plowed their land, exposing topsoil. The strong wind picked up this topsoil and created strong dust storms; decimating homes, schools, and buildings. Also commonly called “The Dirty Thirties”,
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According to History.com, by 1940, more than 2.5million people had fled from the regions affected by the Dust Bowl (1). Meanwhile, the residents of homes that stayed had many issues. This including their crops not growing, not being able to make money, and constantly experiencing dangerous dust storms. The Dust Bowl dealt greatly with the Great Depression because farmers weren’t being able to grow crops, which could easily be the only way they supported their family. This caused farmers to lose their farms by foreclosure causing many unemployment for people (Marrin 46). This high unemployment rate became the main reason the Great Depression happened. Another reason that the Dust Bowl triggered the Great Depression is the great migration of people leaving the area. These struggling migrants represented the misery that was endured during the Great Depression ( “The Dust Bowl” 1). When many of the migrants moved to California they were hoping to find jobs in the agriculture but ended up competing with the Mexican and Filipino for low paying agricultural jobs ( “The Dust Bowl” 1). Whether one moved from the Dust Bowl or stayed, they stared economic depression in the …show more content…
As PBS put it, “The Dust Bowl chronicles the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history” (1). Families and animals starved, lost their homes, and even died one by one from lack of water and the forceful dust storms. Some even may say the worst part of the whole situation was the aftermath, where the unemployment rate soared above regular standards. The Dust Bowl was a two-part predicament. Not only were lives lost in the storms and the drought, but jobs were lost and starvation was common from person to person. Named “The Dirty Thirties” for a reason, the Dust Bowl was a horrid situation that left depression and ruins in its
According to History.com, by 1940, more than 2.5million people had fled from the regions affected by the Dust Bowl (1). Meanwhile, the residents of homes that stayed had many issues. This including their crops not growing, not being able to make money, and constantly experiencing dangerous dust storms. The Dust Bowl dealt greatly with the Great Depression because farmers weren’t being able to grow crops, which could easily be the only way they supported their family. This caused farmers to lose their farms by foreclosure causing many unemployment for people (Marrin 46). This high unemployment rate became the main reason the Great Depression happened. Another reason that the Dust Bowl triggered the Great Depression is the great migration of people leaving the area. These struggling migrants represented the misery that was endured during the Great Depression ( “The Dust Bowl” 1). When many of the migrants moved to California they were hoping to find jobs in the agriculture but ended up competing with the Mexican and Filipino for low paying agricultural jobs ( “The Dust Bowl” 1). Whether one moved from the Dust Bowl or stayed, they stared economic depression in the …show more content…
As PBS put it, “The Dust Bowl chronicles the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history” (1). Families and animals starved, lost their homes, and even died one by one from lack of water and the forceful dust storms. Some even may say the worst part of the whole situation was the aftermath, where the unemployment rate soared above regular standards. The Dust Bowl was a two-part predicament. Not only were lives lost in the storms and the drought, but jobs were lost and starvation was common from person to person. Named “The Dirty Thirties” for a reason, the Dust Bowl was a horrid situation that left depression and ruins in its